GAMES AND GAMERS
Have you noticed any broad differences between the typical Japanese gamer versus the typical American?
Well, the obvious is: They like different games. You can just look at the charts and see the difference. Halo was a non-event here. Half-Life, non-event. RPGs are still popular, as are choose-the-answer story games. The most famous right now outside Japan is probably Phoenix Wright (gyakuten saiban). They also appear not to be into net games as much, although they might just be late bloomers. The internet started slower here (although it's well past the U.S. now), and PCs didn't become popular until the internet became cheap, which was only about four years ago.
What kind of interest have you seen in MMOGs?
Other than FF11, I really haven't seen any. I see ads for Ragnarok, but I'm not sure it actually has that much of an audience. PC games seem mostly non-existent here.
So the PS2 is by far the platform of choice?
Currently, yes.
Have you had the chance to play online with Japanese gamers? Or in an arcade, or any other social setting?
Not a lot. I dated some girl that was really into Lineage and watched her play. I didn't really notice a difference between watching her play and watching my friends in the states play EQ.
You were in Japan when Ultima Online hit, right?
Yeah.
Did it generate any notice in Japan?
Zero.
Do you think there's any cultural resistance to online gaming?
I don't think so. I think it's just a matter of getting them wired and ready. Most people don't have gamer PCs, and the internet didn't happen in Japan until 2001, after the PS2 came out. There's no "Live" on PS2 and no built in networking, and Xbox didn't happen here at all. So, I think if Sony has an "Xbox Live" like service for PS3 out of the box and PS3 does well, then I think Japan is ripe for a huge online market.
Now, everyone in Japan has fast broadband, usually 24 megabits or faster. And they pretty much all have routers, which are down to $40 now, so they are ready to plug in a system that is setup for online gaming. They just need one.
So the competitive/cooperative urge is there?
Probably cooperative more than competitive, but, yes, I personally think it's there. I know some famous Japanese designers that disagree; but, personally, I think they are just too old school to "get it."
What are their grounds for disagreeing?
Generally, they don't personally like online games. Of course, if you press them on it, they've never actually played one; and/or, if they have, it was like Dreamcast on a modem or something, not Xbox Live with headphones.
Is there perhaps a desire for an unblemished microcosm?
Well, Japan is not going to be like America with all the screaming, cussing kids in my opinion. It's just a different culture. I'm sure being anonymous might encourage them to be a little more in-your-face, but I don't think that type of behavior is really in their character.
What type of behavior is in character?
Cooperation, working together toward a common goal. Socializing in a relatively safe way.
One difference someone pointed out to me. When the Americans were let into FF11, my Japanese friends complained they were all too lazy to read the manual. The typical Japanese person, I guess, will read the manual to learn how to play. That probably comes from a basic guideline of Japanese culture: Never bother anyone if you can avoid it.
The American players would just log in without reading the manual and then "shout" in the game to everyone, "How do I do _____?" "Where do I find ____?" bothering everyone in shouting distance.
